When the menace known as the Joker emerges from his mysterious past, he wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham. The Dark Knight must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.

Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, Batman, with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman, is forced from his exile to save Gotham City, now on the edge of total annihilation, from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane.

Storyline

Set within a year after the events of Batman Begins, Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new district attorney Harvey Dent successfully begin to round up the criminals that plague Gotham City until a mysterious and sadistic criminal mastermind known only as the Joker appears in Gotham, creating a new wave of chaos. Batman's struggle against the Joker becomes deeply personal, forcing him to "confront everything he believes" and improve his technology to stop him. A love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Dent and Rachel Dawes.Written by
Leon Lombardi

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on early concept art produced by artist Jamie Rama, a potential scene was pitched that would have featured the Joker in a slaughterhouse. No further information or details on this scrapped scene have been released since the film's release. See more »

Goofs

(at around 1h 18 mins) When Batman's tumbler crashes through a wall after taking a rocket for Dent, it clearly shows it is about to land upside down. But the clip immediately after shows the tumbler lands the right side up. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Grumpy:
[with Chuckles, picks up Bozo on the street]
Three of a kind, let's do this!
Chuckles:
Huh, that's it? Three guys?
Grumpy:
Plus two guys on the roof. Every guy gets a share. Five shares is plenty.
Chuckles:
*Six* shares. Don't forget the guy who planned the job.
Grumpy:
He thinks he can sit it out and still take a slice? I know why they call him "The Joker".
Happy:
[up on the roof, breaking open the alarm box with Dopey]
So why do they call him "the Joker"?
Dopey:
I hear he wears makeup.
Happy:
Makeup?
Happy:
Yeah, to scare people. You know, war ...
[...]See more »

Crazy Credits

Alternate Versions

The Blu-ray version of the movie has several of the big action scenes and high altitude photography scenes in ordinary 16:9 (1.78:1) widescreen ratio while the rest of the movie preserves the "scope" format (2.39:1). This is because these scenes were filmed in IMAX, whose format is 1.44:1, thus attempting to recreate the effect witnessed in IMAX theatres, as well as preserving as much of these shots as possible. See more »

User Reviews

I used to leave a theatre after seeing a highly anticipated movie, specifically a sequel, and be so revved up about what I saw that I would declare that movie to be the best of a series. After each of the prequel "Star Wars" films, I rated that one the best, as good as any of the originals...for a time, until my opinion balanced out and I had a more well-rounded take. For that reason, I steer away from that mindset, and did for "Dark Knight".

Though my opinion is solidifying already after having seen a Warner Bros. screening last night, "Dark Knight" ably stands on its own with or without "Batman Begins". At a two and a half hour runtime, it's definitely an epic of a movie, but one that never runs out of gas. A delightful addition to this experience was a healthy amount of IMAX footage, which significantly adds to the feel of being on a personal, and gruesome, tour of Gotham City.

Christian Bale plays such a well rounded Batman and Bruce Wayne, qualities that none of those who have donned the cowl before him have pulled off. I still have to remember that Bale is British since he speaks with such a spot on American accent. Bale has a particular slurring lisp that serves him quite well, charmingly for Bruce Wayne and threateningly for Batman.

Countering him is the late Heath Ledger, who plays such a scary and creepy Joker that I found it impossible to NOT have chills half the time I saw him on screen. What really separates this brand of Joker from Jack Nicholson's portrayal is true unpredictability. It's obvious that, to be a good guy and think like the Joker, it really takes a toll, and it sure isn't easy. How exactly does one take him down when he's woven his harebrained plot around multiple hostages, explosives, or disappearing parlor tricks?

Initially, I was uneasy about how the character of Harvey Dent would be handled. In my mind, there was really only one faithful portrayal of him, and that could be found in the "Batman" animated series of the early 90s. As well as Tommy Lee Jones COULD have handled him in "Batman Forever", he certainly did not, though it still was a highlight of that movie. Aaron Eckhart ably assumes the mantle here, delivering a performance out of this world, easily on par with the Batman animated series.

Be it known, this caped avenger stands for the good of Gotham City that the police force and its counterparts can't represent, the good that has no jurisdiction, no procedures...and no rules, save for one. I can only hope that we've seen just the prelude to the Dark Knight's upcoming legendary battles with the worst of Gotham City's dark underside.

"The Dark Knight" gets a solid 10 of 10 stars.

1,272 of 1,868 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this